Une Semaine de Bonté, ou, Les Sept Elements Capitaux. Roman.
Paris: Aux Editions Jeanne Bucher, 1934. First edition. One of 800 numbered copies (of a total edition of 816 copies). Five volumes, in publisher's slipcase. Each volume is numbered 335, interestingly some are stamped and some are hand-numbered. The five volumes are as follows: Premier Cahier: Dimanche / Elément: La Boue. Exemple: Le Lion de Belfort. Deuxième Cahier: Lundi / Elément: L’Eau. Exemple: L’Eau. Troisième Cahier: Mardi / Elément: Le Feu. Exemple: La Cour du Dragon. Quatrième Cahier: Mercredi / Elément: Le Sang. Exemple: Oedipe. Dernier Cahier: Jeudi, Vendredi, Samedi / Eléments: Le Noir; La Vue; Inconnu. Exemples: Le Rire du Coq, L’Ile de Paques; L’Interieur de la Vue; La Cle des Chants. Slight sunning to spine of each volume, as often seen, hint of wear to spine tips. Overall an excellent set.
One of Ernst’s most important and extraordinary works, a narrative without text, in which he collaged the images from nineteenth century engravings. This was the third of his collaged novels, after La Femme 100 Têtes (1929) and Rêve d’une Petite Fille Qui Voulut Entrer au Carmel (1930). Breton said of them, “the pages which he has enchanted rather than merely ‘decorated’ are so many eyelids that have started to flutter.”
Castleman, A Century of Artists’ Books, 161. Johnson, Artists’ Books in the Modern Era, 107. Andel, Avant-Garde Page Design, p. 327. Rainwater, Max Ernst: Beyond Surrealism, 33. Item #2125
Price: $7,500.00